What’s in Store: Moving Away from Gender-based Signs

August 7, 2015

Shop a Target store and chances are you’ll discover something exciting. Maybe it’s a quick-fix mix & match meal your family will love, or the perfect pair of earrings to complete that new outfit. We love hearing our guests talk, tweet and post about their unexpected Target finds. To help guests navigate our stores, we put a lot of thought into how things are organized. As part of that, we use signs and displays specially designed to help guests get through the store efficiently while pointing the way to more inspiration and great products.

But we never want guests or their families to feel frustrated or limited by the way things are presented. Over the past year, guests have raised important questions about a handful of signs in our stores that offer product suggestions based on gender. In some cases, like apparel, where there are fit and sizing differences, it makes sense. In others, it may not. Historically, guests have told us that sometimes—for example, when shopping for someone they don’t know well—signs that sort by brand, age or gender help them get ideas and find things faster. But we know that shopping preferences and needs change and, as guests have pointed out, in some departments like Toys, Home or Entertainment, suggesting products by gender is unnecessary.

We heard you, and we agree. Right now, our teams are working across the store to identify areas where we can phase out gender-based signage to help strike a better balance. For example, in the kids’ Bedding area, signs will no longer feature suggestions for boys or girls, just kids. In the Toys aisles, we’ll also remove reference to gender, including the use of pink, blue, yellow or green paper on the back walls of our shelves. You’ll see these changes start to happen over the next few months.

We thank guests all the time for challenging us to get better at what we do and take the shopping trip to new levels. We’re always listening, and your thoughts and ideas help us make Target, your Target, a better place.

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